FREE ESSAY ON THE NOBLE EXPERIMENT - 1920 - PROHIBITION

THE NOBLE EXPERIMENT - 1920 - PROHIBITION

In 1920 congress began what was called "The Noble Experiment". This experiment began with
the signing of the eighteenth amendment of the constitution into law. It was titled by
society as Prohibition. Websters dictionary defines prohibition as: A prohibiting, the
forbidding by law of the manufacture or sale of alcoholic liquors. Prohibition can extend
to mean the foreboding of any number of substances. I define it as a social injustice to
the human race as we know it. Prohibition was designed to rid the country of businesses
that manufactured, sold, and or distributed
alcoholic beverages. The eighteenth amendment made it a violation of the constitution to
do and of the before mentioned. This was a crime punishable up to the Supreme Court. The
original idea was that Americans as a whole were unhealthy, there was too much crime and
corruption, and that people were being burdened by excess taxes that poorhouses and
prisons were creating. What happened? The cheap alcohol being illegally produced killed
more Americans, crime and corruption went up, taxes were raised to fund the law
enforcement needed to enforce prohibition, and the prisons became overcrowded. Some would
have you believe that crime decreased during prohibition. Well, it did. Crime decreased,
as a whole, by 37.7% during prohibition. However violent crime and other serious crimes
were up. Theft of property was up 13.2%, homicide was up m16.1%, and robbery was up
83.3%. Minor crimes had decreased though- by 50%. Crimes such as malicious mischief,
public swearing, vagrancy, etc. (Dr. Fairburn pg 75-80) The prohibition movement did have
its fair share of supporters however. The most active in the movement was the Women's
Christian Temperance Union. They worked hard in campaigning towards this amendment and
gathered, what is now believed today, as to be biased statistics. For example one area
that the WCTU attacked was the saloons and in particular the sale of distilled spirits,
hard alcohol. The WCTU claimed drinking during prohibition was down 30% as opposed to
pre-prohibition. 
However as a percentage to total alcohol sales the consumption of distilled spirits was
up from 50% (pre-prohibition) to an astonishing 89% during prohibition. "Most estimates
place the potency of prohibition-era products at 150+ percent of the potency of products
produced either before or after prohibition (qtd. In Henry Lee 202) Prohibition did not
succeed at all. In order for prohibition to achieve what it was set to do it had to meet
four specific guidelines. It needs to have a significant decrease in the consumption of
alcohol. This did not occur. Secondly after the initial drop, it needed to maintain that
low. What did happen was that after the initial drop alcohol consumption rose steadily.
Next, the resources devoted to the enforcement of prohibition increased along with the
consumption. Originally it was to cost 4.4 million
a year to enforce, it increased to 13.4 million a year burdening the tax payer it was
trying to give a break to. Last of all, the small decrease that did occur did not make
prohibition a success. The bill was designed to eliminate drinking. (Mark Thornton 11)
The health that this Amendment hoped to achieve was actually harmed by prohibition. The
moonshine
being created by amateurs could have killed under many conditions. In alcohol related
illnesses deaths from cirrhosis of the liver, pre-prohibition were 1.5%. During
prohibition these deaths increased to 4% of the total deaths. The Iron Law of Prohibition
states that "The more intense the law enforcement, the more potent the prohibited
substance becomes"- Richard Lowan Taxes were up, health was down, crime and corruption
was up, social stability was down. This bill, this law, which was actually put into the
constitution could stay there no longer. It had to be removed, repealed, and done away
with. Prohibition had failed. The eighteenth amendment to the constitution was no more.
Once repealed society and life in general in the United States transitioned back into a
functioning country. The mob shifted its focus else where and became less notorious. The
moonshiners and shakespies were gone and clean, wholesome brew flowed once again. America
was not stable during
prohibition, and with its dismissal all became well again. I shall leave you with some
closing words to think about and to realize that we are all held morally responsible to
insure that America stays a free and independent country and that nothing like this, in
any form is ever allowed to happen again. "Conspiracies are nation wide in extent, in
great numbers, organized, well-funded, and cleverly conducted." (qtd. By Assistant
Secretary of Treasury Lincoln C. Andrews pg 18) For the most part
prohibition added to the problems that it was designed to stop. It was a social injustice
that plagued our country, brought on by the leaders that are appointed to serve this
nation. Used and abused by the Mafia as a source of financial gain. Some say it was a
mistake, I say it was a conspiracy that goes up into the higher ranks of the nation.
Bibliography
Mark Thornton. Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure [49] Policy Analysis No.157 July 17,
1999
Available: http://www.cato.org
Erich S. Prohibition Nationally and Locally Available:
http://www.viz.net/middle/prohib.html
Ohio State University. Why Prohibition [8] Available:
http://www.cohums.ohio-state.edu/history/projects/prohibition/whyprohibition.htm
Ohio State University. The Brewing Industry at Prohibition [7] Availiable:
http://www.history.ohio-state.edu/projects/prohibition/brewing